Workers’ comp law: How to keep costs, compliance in check

THE LAW. Workers' compensation insurance provides compensation to employees for loss of income and for medical payments when they're injured on the job. A state workers' comp law covers most employers. There are very few exceptions, such as self-employed people, railroad employees and harbor workers. Also, the federal government's workers' comp programs protect federal employees.

Benefits are funded by state insurance pools, employers' own self-insurance or private insurance com-panies.

Workers' comp is a no-fault in-surance system. To collect benefits, workers don't have to prove that they're completely free from fault or that the employer is at fault.

Workers' comp also is an "exclusive remedy" system. That means, in ex-change for the expectation of benefits, workers can't bring a civil lawsuit against an employer to collect damages for worker-related injuries. The law typically makes exceptions in cases where...(register to read more)

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